Wang Zhenyi

Wang Zhenyi (; 1768–1797; styled Deqing (德卿)), also known as the Jinling and Jiangning Lady Historian (金陵女史), was a Chinese scientist from the Qing Dynasty. Described as "an extraordinary woman of 18th Century China," she pursued education in several subjects and is known for her contributions to astronomy, mathematics, and poetry.

Biography Wang's ancestral home was located in the Anhui province. Her grandfather's family later moved to Jiangning (now known as Nanjing).

She was raised by her grandparents and father. Her grandfather Wang Zhefu was a governor of the Fengcheng County and the Xuanhua District. He was an avid reader who maintained a large book collection. Her father, Wang Xichen, failed the imperial examination and turned to studying medical science. He recorded his findings in a four-volume collection titled Yifang Yanchao (Collection of Medical Prescriptions).

From the age of nine, she was taught to write poetry and essays, focusing on the human condition. Her grandfather, Wang Zhefu, died in 1782 and the family traveled to Jilin (close to the Great Wall) for his funeral. Wang, along with grandmother and father, went to mourn outside the Great Wall and lived there for four years, where she studied under the Lady of Bu Qianyao. Here, Zhenyi gained knowledge from reading her grandfather's collection of books, as well as learning equestrian skills, archery, and martial arts from the wife of a Mongolian general named Aa.

At the age of 16, Wang traveled to the south of the Yangtze river with her father before moving back to the capital. When she was 18, she made friends with female scholars in Jiangning through her poetry and began focusing on her studies in astronomy and mathematics, most of which were self-taught.

Her paper The Explanation of the Pythagorean Theorem and Trigonometry focuses on foundational geometric principles, including the Pythagorean theorem.

Wang Zhenyi died in 1797 at the age of 29. The exact cause of her death is unknown but most likely due to her illness. Aware of her impending death, she entrusted her works and manuscripts to her close friend Madam Kuai (1763–1827), who later passed them on to her nephew, Qian Yiji (1783–1850), a prominent scholar of the Qing dynasty. Qian Yiji compiled her writings into Shusuan Jiancun (Simple Principles of Calculation) and described Wang Zhenyi as "the number one female scholar after Ban Zhao". Female scholars in scientific fields, such as Wang Zhenyi, were uncommon in the context of Qing-era society. In the preface to Shusuan Jiancun, Qing scholar Qian Yiji likened her to Ban Zhao, a prominent female scholar of ancient China, praising her intellectual achievements. In addition to her work in the natural sciences, Wang Zhenyi supported women's education and placed strong value on lifelong learning. She expressed concern over the limited educational opportunities available to women and questioned social norms that restricted their academic participation.

Her travels with her father broadened her horizons and deepened her intellectual curiosity, leading her to believe that "one's pursuit of learning knows no bounds, and every moment is precious." Some of her contemporaries, including family members, reportedly dismissed or questioned her scientific interests. Most of her scientific writings have been lost, with only a few general readership works surviving. Wang Zhenyi was known as a multidisciplinary scholar, with interests spanning literature, history, poetry, and astronomy. Much of her education was self-directed. Later scholars have described her as a versatile figure, noting her engagement with both literary and martial arts, as well as her familiarity with Chinese and Western scientific thought. )

She believed social feudal values were inappropriate: "when talking about learning and sciences, people thought of no women," she said that "women should only do cooking and sewing, and that they should not be bothered about writing articles for publication, studying history, composing poetry or doing calligraphy."